From CEO of Overstock.com - rp supporter

surf

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A friend passed this on to me (if this is a duplicate thread - i appologize)

Dear Customer,

Because Overstock advertises on Fox channels, Overstock has been receiving calls and email messages about Fox News decision to exclude Dr. Ron Paul from the upcoming January 6 forum in New Hampshire, a decision that seems especially rank given the fact that in yesterdays Iowa Caucus Dr. Paul out-polled Mayor Giuliani by a factor of 2.5:1. I always enjoy hearing from our customers, particularly those who display political commitment of any flavor, and I thank them for their calls and emails.

In October Dr. Paul came to Utah, and he and I visited for an hour in my office. After that meeting, I gave him the largest donation I could under federal law: it is rare to meet a politician who understands the Constitution, and rarer still to meet one who thinks it binds the government meaningfully (I would give Dr. Paul more were there not now a federal blackout on free speech known as "McCain-Feingold"). In a television interview last week I stated that, while for the first time in my life I felt there are several candidates qualified to be president, my #1 choice would be Dr. Paul.

That said, I believe that pulling Overstocks advertising from Fox would represent an inappropriate conflation of my personal politics with my corporate responsibilities: thus, fellow supporters of Dr. Paul, my answer to you is, "no." However, I have contacted Fox and told them that, as a major advertiser, I believe it is unconscionable of them to exclude Dr. Paul from participating in this forum on January 6, thus denying our polity the opportunity to make an informed choice.

Respectfully,

Patrick M. Byrne, Ph.D.

CEO, Overstock.com

PS If you wish to join me in asking Fox to refrain from trying to warp the public discourse, email Fox Senior Political Producer Marty Ryan

PPS If you wish to learn more about (or support!) Dr. Paul, click here

PPPS There is no particular reason you should be interested, but in case you are, in the last several weeks I gave PBS and NPR interviews where I discussed these political views.

KUED PBS Television
KUER NPR Radio
(You can also find and comment upon these on my blog, www.deepcapture.com)
 
Yeah but he still won't pull advertising from Fox News so we need to help align his personal politics with his corporate responsibilities by boycotting Overstock.com
 
That's bull.

If he was a real supporter he would drop his advertising... dropping his ads on fox isn't going to kill his business, there are plenty of other channels to advertise on.
 
Yeah but he still won't pull advertising from Fox News so we need to help align his personal politics with his corporate responsibilities by boycotting Overstock.com


Here is how I see it...
We were boycotting Fox News advertisers.
In hopes that they would drop there ads on Fox News.
So Fox News would be hurt by the loss of revenue, and maybe ad publicity.

That's how a boycott works.. right?


So why would we stop boycotting someone when they release a statement saying they will not drop ads???


Secondly, and a BIG second.... he maxed out his donations for Giuliani, not Paul!!!
!


this is from open secrets.org:


BYRNE, PATRICK M
PARK CITY,UT 84098

OVERSTOCK.COM/C.E.O. 9/11/2007 $5,000 Campaign for America's Future



BYRNE, PATRICK
PARK CITY,UT 84098

OVERSTOCK.COM/CEO 9/25/2007 $2,300 Smith, Gordon H



BYRNE, PATRICK M MR
PARK CITY,UT 84098

OVERSTOCK.COM/C.E.O. 3/15/2007 $2,300 Giuliani, Rudolph W
 
Here is how I see it...
We were boycotting Fox News advertisers.
In hopes that they would drop there ads on Fox News.
So Fox News would be hurt by the loss of revenue, and maybe ad publicity.

That's how a boycott works.. right?


So why would we stop boycotting someone when they release a statement saying they will not drop ads???


Secondly, and a BIG second.... he maxed out his donations for Giuliani, not Paul!!!
!


this is from open secrets.org:

LOL! Great find! Way to see through the BS!
 
Be careful: 4th quarter (October) is when he says he maxed out for Ron. Not reported yet.
 
Be careful: 4th quarter (October) is when he says he maxed out for Ron. Not reported yet.

Good point...

I still think it is dumb if he supports Paul, but won't pull ads from Fox News.

Does anyone know when the Q4 numbers will be out?
 
That's bull s.

Corporations were given rights as individuals. Least he can do is act like one, and not a corporate whore.

It does no good to pay democracy lip service... from any American, even a corporate entity American.
 
I made my own decision.

[email protected]

I just read the CEO's decision about not intermixing personal feelings (morality) with business decisions. I'll help you make it a business decision. I will never buy from this company again.

Sincerely,

My Real Name
 
Overstock.com is having enough trouble staying in business. They don't have the option to stop advertisements anywhere.
 
Give the guy a break. Did you see what he suggests: send an email to [email protected]
sorry, the links didn't copy well, but on the message he sent out he went out of his way to highlight his support for Ron and for our case. i think Somebody_Else's assessment is spot on
 
Why would he pull advertising? Someone else would just get the air time at a lower price. Seems like a foolish business move to me.
 
Why would he pull advertising? Someone else would just get the air time at a lower price. Seems like a foolish business move to me.

Why would he advertise? Someone else would just get Ron Paul supporters' business. Seems like a foolish business move to me.
 
Agreed, it's BS

That's like saying, "I'm a Christian" while walking around, lying, stealing, and committing adultery. This "Do as I say but not as I do crap" doesn't fly very well with me. He's got to drop the ads or he's no supporter.
 
Sorry, maybe this U.S. publicly held corporation should respect the principles that our country was founded upon. I will never buy from overstock.com again.

Your support for Ron Paul is noted. :rolleyes:
 
Overstock.com's CEO chastizes Fox over RP exclusion

Patrick M. Byrne, Ph.D., CEO of Overstock.com said
I have contacted Fox and told them that, as a major advertiser, I believe it is unconscionable of them to exclude Dr. Paul from participating in this forum on January 6, thus denying our polity the opportunity to make an informed choice.

While he didn't pull their ad dollars from Fox, at least he did something.

Read his full response here http://disinter.wordpress.com/2008/01/05/overstockcom-boycotts-fox-news-almost/
 
I say the boycot is still legit... As was mentioned, help him make it a business decision!
 
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